MacMillan and Dr. James Thompson, director of the Wharton Social Entrepreneurship Program, provide a tough-love approach that significantly increases the likelihood of a successful social enterprise launch in the face of the high-uncertainty conditions typically encountered by social entrepreneurs.MacMillan and Thompson used their own systematic framework to publish The Social Entrepreneur's Playbook. To test the market, they offered the first phase in their start-up method (step 1) as a free ebook. Readers were invited to join The Social Entrepreneur's Advisory Group, and nearly 300 aspiring and active social entrepreneurs shared feedback that helped shape the complete edition of the book, which covers all three steps in the start-up to scale-up process.Based on this crowd-sourced feedback from readers of the free ebook and drawing on the authors' more than 26 years' combined experience developing and studying social enterprises in the field across Africa and in the United States, this new edition provides guidance for each phase:Phase One: Pressure Test Your Start-Up Idea. Based on the free ebook, this expanded section now includes advice on setting revenue and social impact goals, how to navigate the sociopolitical landscape, and how to develop a strong concept statement. In addition, MacMillan and Thompson provide advice on how to identify and test a proposed revenue-generating solution and define and segment your target population.Phase Two: Plan Your Social Enterprise. All new to this edition, this critical phase shows you how to frame and scope the venture, determine what it will take to actually deliver a sustainable enterprise, identify the key assumptions that have been made, and design checkpoints to test those assumptions before making major investments.Phase Three: Launch and Scale Your Social Enterprise. Available for the first time in this edition, you will learn how to effectively launch your enterprise, manage upside potential and downside risk, and strategically scale up.Filled with accessible frameworks and tools, as well as inspiring stories of social entrepreneurs, The Social Entrepreneur's Playbook is a must-read for any aspiring or active social entrepreneur, as well as philanthropists, foundations, and nonprofits interested in doing more good with fewer resources. Includes access to downloadable planning documents, including user-friendly spreadsheets

    Author Tim Calkins understands the power of a compelling presentation and the difficulty in accomplishing one. The brand strategist, professor and author has been giving presentations since he was eight, when he delivered his first official presentation with an uncooperative chicken at a 4-H competition. From business updates to project recommendations to marketing plans, Calkins has given more than five thousand presentations to date. With concrete suggestions, helpful tricks, and step-by-step guidance that’s applicable to all industries, Calkins sets out to propel his readers to create and deliver effective business presentations and pitches. When all lessons from How to Wash a Chicken are applied, readers will be empowered throughout the preparation and presentation process. They will be able to present with more confidence and conviction than they ever had before, setting them on a path of professional growth.

    In his latest book, management expert Ken Miller discusses how the processes of state and local government became so complicated and inefficient – and how to start cleaning up the mess. With his typical irreverent and funny tone, Ken lays out the simple ways that public-sector leaders can tear down all the twisted, broken parts of government and rebuild it stronger, leaner and better equipped to help citizens. Full of clear, concise tips on increasing government’s capacity, Extreme Government Makeover is essential reading for everyone in government, from top-level executives to managers and employees on the front lines.What you’ll learn in Extreme Government Makeover• The one and only thing government needs to focus on to get out of this crisis• How government can perform its vital functions 80 percent faster, at less cost and with better quality• The DNA of government complexity and how we can genetically modify it • How to spot the “moldy” thinking that is making us all sick• How to get rid of 40 percent of your agency’s workload• How to find the hidden costs of government• What the next generation of customers and employees are going to do to your operations• Why technology isn’t the answer• Most importantly, you’ll learn a new way of seeing the work of government – and a better way to make that work great.

    He's not content with just sharing a few ideas - instead this traveling renegade is taking aim at every roadblock that keeps people from achieving their goals. From "not enough money" to "lack of connections" to "not enough time" to "I just can't seem to do it", Jon's taking laser aim at all the excuses, and breaking things down into small, simple steps that anyone can take to become wealthier, better connected, more talented, and more free. It doesn't matter if you're already working at home, squeezing in a little extra time after your job, or you don't even have a plan yet. Serve No Master isn't just a book - it's a system designed to smash the chains and give you a better financial outlook and more free time to do what you love.You're going to discover how to:–Break the cycle of information buying and take action on your knowledge –Develop a killer business plan that takes full advantage of your skills –Get one-on-one time with the key players in your industry - even if you don't have experience –Create books, compose videos, and blaze through online tasks in a fraction of the time –Develop passive income and get paid over and over for what you do - with real examples –Slash risks and expenses so you spend less and earn more –Create effortless, unbreakable habits that fit into your life routine. –Get free upgrades at hotel rooms, save thousands of dollars on rent, get wild discounts on cruises around the world, and travel like a boss Jonathan also covers how other people impact your bottom line - whether that's in negotiations with potential customers and partners, making friends and family more accepting of your lifestyle, and making time for the things that really matter. magine sitting down with Jon and getting a one-on-one strategy session, full of practical information and built for the structure of your life. This book will teach you everything you need to know to get ready for the great adventure that is life without a master. From choosing the right tools and strategies all the way through building the unstoppable confidence you need to succeed.

    Reminiscent of best-selling authors Stephen Covey and John Maxwell, Newberry teaches readers the power of goal setting, time management, visualization, and “self-talk” so they can achieve peak levels of performance in all areas of their lives.

    This updated assessment includes reports and resources that go far beyond the standardized reports of the older assessment by providing you with personalized insight statements unique to your specific combination of strengths.Many people have little sense of their talents and strengths, much less the ability to build their lives around them. Instead, they are raised and taught to become experts in their weaknesses — and spend their lives trying to fix them — while their strengths lie dormant. Led by Don Clifton, the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology, Gallup created a revolutionary program to help people identify their talents; develop them into strengths; and enjoy consistent, near-perfect performance. Twenty years ago, Gallup released Now, Discover Your Strengths to bring this program to the world. At the heart of this book is CliftonStrengths, the assessment that is the product of decades of research and hundreds of thousands of interviews to identify the most prevalent human strengths. CliftonStrengths reveals 34 dominant talent themes that you can translate into personal and career success. To develop this assessment, Gallup conducted psychological profiles with more than 2 million individuals to help people around the world focus and perfect these themes. Since Now, Discover Your Strengths was first released two decades ago, more than 20 million people worldwide have taken the CliftonStrengths assessment. The 20th anniversary edition includes a unique access code to take CliftonStrengths — previously known as StrengthsFinder 2.0 — which is a significantly more robust program than the assessment that appeared in the original edition of the book. This web-based assessment analyzes your instinctive reactions and immediately presents you with your top five themes. Once you know which of the 34 themes you lead with — such as Achiever, Activator, Empathy, Futuristic and Strategic — the book will show you how to use your top themes for your own development, for your success as a manager and for the success of your organization. With accessible and profound insights into how to turn talents into strengths, and with immediate online feedback from the CliftonStrengths assessment at its core, Now, Discover Your Strengths is one of the most groundbreaking and powerful business books ever written.

    Jones and George are dedicated to the challenge of "Making It Real" for students. The authors present management in a way that makes its relevance obvious even to students who might lack exposure to a "real-life" management context. This is accomplished thru a diverse set of examples, and the unique, and most popular feature of the text, the "Manager as a Person" Chapter 2. This chapter discusses managers as real people with their own personalities, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and problems and this theme is carried thru the remaining chapters. This text also discusses the importance of management competencies--the specific set of skills, abilities, and experiences that gives one manager the ability to perform at a higher level than another in a specific context. The themes of diversity, ethics, globalization, and information technology are integrated throughout.

    He is the “grey eminence” within the Army whose influence helped to shape the careers of George Patton, George Marshall, and, most notably, President Eisenhower. What little is known about Conner comes primarily through stories about his relationship with Eisenhower, but little is known about Fox Conner himself.After a career that spanned four decades, this master strategist ordered all of his papers and journals burned. Because of this, most of what is known about Conner is oblique, as a passing reference in the memoirs of other great men. This book combines existing scholarship with long-forgotten references and unpublished original sources to achieve a more comprehensive picture of this dedicated public servant. The portrait that emerges provides a four-step model for developing strategic leaders that still holds true today. First and foremost, Conner was a master of his craft. Secondly, he recognized and recruited talented subordinates. Then he encouraged and challenged these protégés to develop their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Finally he wasn’t afraid to break the rules of the organization to do it. Here, for the first time ever, is the story of Major General Fox Conner.

    Rather, other factors can be even more crucial such as identifying our passions and following through on our commitments.Drawing on her own powerful story as the daughter of a scientist who frequently bemoaned her lack of smarts, Duckworth describes her winding path through teaching, business consulting, and neuroscience, which led to the hypothesis that what really drives success is not genius, but a special blend of passion and long-term perseverance. As a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Duckworth created her own character lab and set out to test her theory.Here, she takes readers into the field to visit teachers working in some of the toughest schools, cadets struggling through their first days at West Point, and young finalists in the National Spelling Bee. She also mines fascinating insights from history and shows what can be gleaned from modern experiments in peak performance. Finally, she shares what she's learned from interviewing dozens of high achievers; from JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon to the cartoon editor of The New Yorker to Seattle Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll.Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that not talent or luck makes all the difference.

    It seems so basic. Why is it so hard to actually get right? According to innovation expert Phil McKinney, the real problem is that we're teaching people to ask the wrong questions about their businesses--or none at all. There has to be a better way. In Beyond the Obvious, McKinney will help you use his proven FIRE (Focus, Ideation, Rank, Execution) Method to dig deeper and get back to asking the right questions--the ones all companies must ask to survive. Full of real-world examples, this book will change the way you operate, innovate, and create, and it all begins with battle-tested questions Phil has gathered on note cards throughout his career. Shared for the first time here, these "Killer Questions" include:What are the rules and assumptions my industry operates under? What if the opposite were true?What will be the buying criteria used by my customer in 5 years?What are my unshakable beliefs about what my customers want?Who uses my product in ways I never anticipated? These questions will reframe the way you see your products, your customers, and the way the two interact. Whether you're a company of thousands or a lean startup, Beyond the Obvious will give you the skills and easy-to-follow plan you need to make both the revolutionary changes and nuanced tweaks required for success. Praise for Beyond the Obvious "Human beings are creatures of habit, so getting ourselves and our teams to think beyond the obvious is a challenge we face all the time. Phil McKinney is an innovation expert, and his killer questions and hit-the-spot anecdotes provide a great way to get out in front of opportunities we otherwise won't see." -- Geoffrey Moore, author of Crossing the Chasm and Escape Velocity "I've always believed that asking the right questions is the essence of design. Phil McKinney proves that point with this wonderful set of killer questions that will jumpstart-or greatly enhance- your innovation efforts." -- B. Joseph Pine II, co-author, The Experience Economy & Infinite Possibility. "Product Innovation is a prerequisite to building great brands. Phil's questions are a prerequisite to building innovative products." -- Satjiv S. Chahil, former global marketing chief, Apple"

    The world applauds extroverts, so it's easy to feel left out in the cold. As an introvert, you know it's important to be outgoing, social and a good leader, yet these behaviors don't seem natural. The truth is that success in life often comes down to how well you sell yourself. This means behaving in a manner that doesn't seem congruent with what's inside. In simple terms, the world around us requires introverts to behave in an extroverted manner. LEARN:: How to Harness Your Introverted "Powers" Introversion "can" be a good thing. Without introverts, society would be full of outgoing and social people but a lot fewer artists, analysts, scientists, doctors, writers, engineers, and designers. On the other hand, the world often celebrates and rewards extroverts, often leaving introverts out in the cold. Instead of trying to make you an extrovert, the goal of "Confident You" is to help you capitalize on all the positive aspects of being an introvert, while helping you overcome the less positive aspects of introversion. DOWNLOAD:: Confident You - An Introvert's Guide to Success in Life and Business "Confident You" provides 15 strategies to help you become more extroverted in business and social situations. You will discover: A 10-Minute Test That Identifies Your "Type" of Introversion Simple Lessons from Famous Introverts How to Deal with a Lack of Confidence (or Shyness) in Social Situations The Secret to Making a Good First Impression How to Have Your ACCOMPLISHMENTS Recognized at Work The Best Ways to Nurture Relationships with Extroverts Unique Leadership Qualities of Introverts How to Engage in Small Talk That MATTERS 4 Ways to Overcome the "Dull Perception" You "can" thrive in a world that prefers extroverts. All you need is an action plan for social situations at work and in life. Would You Like To Know More? Download now to learn how to become more confident and successful introvert. Scroll to the top of the page and select the "buy now" button.

    These people try your patience, sap your energy, and add an entirely unhealthy dynamic to workplace productivity. The bestselling author of Emotional Vampires and Dinosaur Brains shows you how to spot and deal effectively with these dysfunctional elements in the workplace:ANTISOCIALS, who crave excitement in all its forms, including aggression If your boss or a coworker is trying to push you around . . . Learn that the most important battle to fight with a bully is in your own mind.HISTRIONICS, who believe that what it looks like is more important than what it is If your boss thinks any problem can be solved with a motivational seminar . . . Learn how to get a manager wannabe to actually manage.NARCISSISTS, who believe that the universe revolves around them If your CEO makes Louis XVI look like Gandhi . . . Learn techniques that diplomats have used throughout history to teach infantile monarchs to act like grown-ups.OBSESSIVE-COMPULSIVES, who can't seem to see the forest for the trees If there is absolutely no task that your boss considers too small to micromanage . . . Learn to be a Control-Freak Whisperer by seeing your boss's fear rather than your own irritation.PARANOIDS, who think they've found the simple truths that explain everything If you work in a place where you can't get ahead unless you drink the Kool-Aid . . . Learn how to recognize a toxic belief system before it poisons you.VAMPIRE CULTURES: when vampires get promoted to positions of power, they remake organizations in their own image . . . Learn the 15 warning signs that tell you to get out before sunset.PRAISE FOR EMOTIONAL VAMPIRES: We love so much about this book! A great complement to Dealing with People You Can't Stand, it goes beyond dealing with the merely difficult behavior to the truly pathological. Bernstein offers believable examples and useful descriptions. This is the book to recommend when the topic of truly horrible behavior comes up! -- Dr. Rick Kirschner and Dr. Rick Brinkman, authors of the international bestseller Dealing with People You Can't StandThis book equips individuals with the tools to identify and defend against a wide array of emotional vampires at work. It offers well-developed tactics for navigating the most difficult people in any organization. -- Katherine Crowley and Kathi Elster, bestselling authors of Working with You Is Killing Me and Mean Girls at WorkIt's amazing how one manipulative, territorial, or otherwise self-serving boss or employee can make the lives of everyone around miserable. In Emotional Vampires at Work, Albert Bernstein offers concrete, step-by-step guidance to manage life around these misfits. You'll learn to take care of your and your valued colleagues' needs, while contributing your best to your organization--with maturity and sanity. -- Nancy Ancowitz, author of Self-Promotion for Introverts

    Questioning—deeply, imaginatively, "beautifully"—can help us identify and solve problems, come up with game-changing ideas, and pursue fresh opportunities. So why are we often reluctant to ask "Why?"Berger's surprising findings reveal that even though children start out asking hundreds of questions a day, questioning "falls off a cliff" as kids enter school. In an education and business culture devised to reward rote answers over challenging inquiry, questioning isn't encouraged—and, in fact, is sometimes barely tolerated.And yet, as Berger shows, the most creative, successful people tend to be expert questioners. They've mastered the art of inquiry, raising questions no one else is asking—and finding powerful answers. The author takes us inside red-hot businesses like Google, Netflix, IDEO, and Airbnb to show how questioning is baked into their organizational DNA. He also shares inspiring stories of artists, teachers, entrepreneurs, basement tinkerers, and social activists who changed their lives and the world around them—by starting with a "beautiful question."Berger explores important questions, such as:- Why aren't we nurturing kids' natural ability to question—and what can parents and schools do about that?- Since questioning is a starting point for innovation, how might companies and business leaders begin to encourage and exploit it?- And most important, how can each of us re-ignite that questioning spark—and use inquiry as a powerful means to rethink and reinvent our lives?A More Beautiful Question outlines a practical Why / What If / How system of inquiry that can guide you through the process of innovative questioning—helping you find imaginative, powerful answers to your own "beautiful questions."

    The late Kaleel Jamison, one of the first women to enter the field of management consulting, experienced what she described as nibbles, little bites that life takes out of you--really attacks on your self confidence. Her longtime best selling book, The Nibble Theory, is a process for dealing with the world that moves the reader toward personal power and growth arising out of the unique values and strengths of each person. Kaleel cared deeply about the unique combination of gifts and talents that each of us brings to the world. She felt that she had a mission, and feared what would be lost if we, as individuals and organizations, did not take on the sacred responsibility of being, and supporting others in being, the biggest circles possible. That's what makes this book so important. --Frederick A. Miller, President and CEO, The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, Inc.

    In the 1980s, Toyota stood out for combining quality with continuous refinement. Today, Google is reinventing business yet again-the way we work, how organizations are controlled, and how employees are managed.Management consultant Bernard Girard has been analyzing Google since its founding in 1998, and now in The Google Way, he explores Google's innovations in depth-many of which are far removed from the best practices taught at the top business schools.As you read, you'll see how much of Google's success is due to its focus on users and automation. You'll also learn how eCommerce has profoundly changed the relationship between businesses and their customers, for the first time giving customers an important role to play in a major corporation's growth. Finally, Girard speculates about the limits of Google's business model and discusses the challenges it will face as it continues to grow.Google's culture is one of innovation. Why not make that spirit of innovation your own?